Orji Uzor Kalu, a senator from Abia North, has been accused by The Rising Sun Group, a coalition of pan-Igbo rights activists, of leveraging the issue of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, or IPOB, to gain favor with President Bola Tinubu.
In an appearance on Channels Television, Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, said that Kanu’s agitation killed 30,000 people in the South-East. He added that he has been working hard to have Kanu out from custody.
The senator was responding to concerns about Kanu’s terrorism conviction and the life sentence that Justice James Omotosho’s Abuja Federal High Court imposed on him.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Rising Sun’s coordinators, Maxwell Dede and Reverend Father Augustine Odinmegwa, refuted Kalu’s assertions, claiming that the senator is one of the Igbo elite members who will do everything to further their political agendas.
Instead of defending what they called Kanu’s persecution, the pan-Igbo campaigners maintained that Orji Kalu should have remained silent if he had nothing to say.
“Our attention has been drawn to Sunday’s interview by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North, on Channels TV, where he claimed that over 30,000 people had died due to the agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPoB, leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” the statement stated in part. In the interview, the former governor of Abia also backed Justice James Omotosho about his notorious Kanu verdict.
Senator Kalu chose to criticize Nnamdi Kanu for his outraged response to the blatant injustice that Justice Omotosho had inflicted upon him rather than remain silent if he had nothing constructive to say. As if it weren’t enough, Senator Kalu started making outrageous claims about his alleged role in getting Kanu released in 2017. Additionally, he denigrated the Igbo and everyone who was dissatisfied by the aforementioned ruling, which can only be described as a mockery of justice. Even though we are angry at such careless comments, we are not shocked because we are aware that a leopard cannot alter the color of its skin. Senator Kalu merely reaffirmed the long-held belief in many quarters that he is a member of the Igbo elite who is willing to play any role due to political motivations.
However, Ndigbo would not tolerate any attempt by Orji Uzor Kalu to use Kanu’s case to gain favor with the President. He is only half smart for believing that he could obtain Tinubu’s favor—possibly in exchange for a return ticket in 2027—by using careless vituperation and unguarded statements against the IPOB leader.
It is well known that Orji Uzor Kalu was one of the people who vehemently opposed Tinubu’s presidential campaign in 2023, when he openly supported Ahmed Lawan, the Senate President at the time. Senator Kalu is mistaken; Nigerians are not stupid. They already understand why he suddenly fell in love with President Tinubu.
The activists also claimed that Kalu insulted the Igbo people by drawing comparisons between Nnamdi Kanu’s “alleged unruly behavior” in court and his “calmness” during his trial for accused financial fraud.
Kalu should realize that there is no connection between the crime for which he was found guilty and imprisoned and “the trumped-up charges, biased trial, of subsequent strange conviction of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” according to the statement.
Rising Sun urged the senator to quit humiliating himself in his quest for political significance, pointing out that Kalu would have no place in government if it weren’t for Nigeria’s faulty electoral system. The statement said, “We want to warm him to stop using Nnamdi Kanu’s matter to play politics.”
In a same spirit, Rising Sun questioned why, despite what he claimed to have done, Kalu—who it described as Tinubu’s political age-mate—has not been able to mediate a political resolution to Kanu’s case. The senator was challenged by the group to “do the needful.”
“If he thinks he has the ability and clout to fix Kanu’s political situation, what is preventing him from doing so consistently? Orji Uzor Kalu, a prominent member of the ruling party, former governor, and political ally of President Ahmed Tinubu, shouldn’t wait for anyone to spearhead the effort to find a political solution for Kanu’s release. He should use his unrestricted access to the powerful to take the necessary action, according to the statement.
Rising Sun also refuted Kalu’s allegations regarding the deaths in the South-East, saying, “Can Orji Uzor Kalu tell the world who sanctioned the said atrocities because he claims that over 30,000 persons were killed in South-East as a result of the agitation by Nnamdi Kanu?
Will Senator Kalu pretend to be unaware that security agents have killed IPOB members in a genocidal manner without provoking anyone? Did he mean the massacre of Biafra agitators at a pro-Trump demonstration in Port Harcourt, the massacre of IPOB members praying at Nkpor and Onitsha, or those praying at the National High School Aba? How could Orji Uzor Kalu legitimately accuse IPOB members—who are actually the unfortunate victims of security forces’ brutality—of a crime they did not commit?
“We caution Orji Uzor Kalu and his fellow political opportunists not to make any more careless or deceitful comments about Kanu’s experience. Anyone who betrays his countrymen for personal benefit will be judged by history.
